My journey to lift the veil of the food illusion

Archive for the ‘The Facts’ Category

One of the aspects of food Pollan discussed in his book, was the issue of organic vs. commercial produce. Commercial plants today are grown in a highly processed and synthesized soil. Scientists discovered some of the major compounds that contribute to plant growth, and accordingly they created fertilizers focusing on only those compounds (like Nitrogen and Phosphorous). While this might seam like a good idea, these scientists fail to realize that the soil as a whole equals more than the sum of it’s parts. No only do plants need Nitrogen and Phosphorous, they also need many other vitamins and minerals to aid in growth, protection, and durability. These components are present naturally in organic soil due to decomposition of dead plant matter. Because the majority of crops in America are not fed on this rich soil, they are notably lacking in nutritional value. Compared to the plants our Grandparents and great-Grandparents ate, today’s produce is substantially less nutrient dense. Not only are Americans not eating enough fruits and vegetables, we also are not obtaining as many nutrients from what we are eating. This is also the case the meat. Instead of being allowed to graze naturally on grass, and other vegetation, animals are now given highly specialized feed that does not contain the nutrients found in ground foliage. As a result, our meat contains less iron as well as many other necessary components. Animals, however, are a totally different subject and we shall now continue with the subject at hand.

Because most of our produce is shipped half-way across the world before it enters the supermarket, it looses much of it’s nutrients along the journey. Furthermore, some plants are picked with they are not yet ripe (which means they do not have as many vitamins and minerals) and later ripened with chemicals (that’s a double-whammy!). Unfortunately, this is sometimes also the case with organic produce. While this organic produce doesn’t contain chemical insecticide, it also doesn’t contain as many nutrients as it could. Does anyone else see a problem with this?

These are some of the reasons one of my main goals over the summer is to learn how to garden. Not only is it a fun and rewarding hobby, home gardens produce organically grown produce that is harvested at the point of optimal nutrition, and only travels from your back yard into your kitchen!

Fortunately, our family friends the Roseveares live in Loveland, about 35 minutes away. Mrs. Roseveare is an skilled gardener and has developed her own curriculum for gardening based on her extensive knowledge and experience. I am actually going to learn about gardening by working along side Mrs. Roseveare on her garden. It really is so awesome! One morning every week will drive to her house to work on the garden for a few hours. We will begin the morning going over the lesson in the curriculum, and then we will get to gardening! I only have to pay a small amount for the curriculum and for a share of the garden (from which I get to take home the harvest)! This is pretty much the best deal ever 🙂

Hence starts my adventure of gardening. Here’s to plants rich in nutrients. Here’s to learning a valuable skill. Here’s to being outside and playing in the dirt. Here’s to gardening.